The Best Heat-Free Hacks for Gorgeous Curly Hair

We all know the damage that daily heat-styling can cause to our hair. You can use heat protection products to try to fight the frizz and breakage caused by heat styling, but the best method to protect your hair is to stop using heat altogether. But don’t worry – we can still achieve gorgeous beachy waves and fierce curls without using heat.

Below are our best heat-free hacks for beautiful curly hair.

Overnight braid

One of the easiest ways to achieve curly hair without heat is an overnight braid. Simply braid damp or dry hair the night before and wake up to beautiful curls. You can keep it simple with a basic braid, or for more curls you can sleep in a French braid.

You can help to minimize frizz and keep your hair hydrated by applying a leave-in conditioner before you braid your hair, or by using our Sheer Glow Super Gloss to add vibrancy to your color and a mirror glaze shine. In the morning, unwind your braid and use some dry shampoo on your roots to add some volume. If some sections look a bit fluffy, apply a small amount of smoothing hair oil. Or you could spray salt spray into your waves to amp up the beachy vibes.

Hair rollers

Hair rollers aren’t just for your grandma! Rollers are perfect for creating big glamorous curls – the bigger the roller, the bigger the curl. Roll sections of damp hair up into the roller from the ends and secure it at the top with bobby pins. Then you just need to leave them to dry for a few hours – but be careful if you want to leave them in overnight, as certain rollers can cause breakage as you toss and turn!

Once your hair is dry you can unroll your hair for gorgeous waves. You can apply hairspray to make sure they stay looking perfect all through the day.

Sock curlers

If you don’t want to use plastic or Velcro hair rollers overnight, you can use socks instead. Now stay with us! It’s a trend that’s gone viral on TikTok and for good reason. Using clean cotton socks, roll sections of damp hair up towards your head and tie a knot with the ends of the sock to secure it.

As we’re using a gentler method here, we can sleep with sock curlers in overnight and not worry about breakage. Plus, they’re much more comfortable! For added protection (and to make sure you don’t undo all your hard work) sleep in a hair bonnet. When you wake up, simply untie the socks and unroll for amazing, tousled curls.

Sea salt scrunch

If your hair already has some texture but you want to define your curls a little more, you just need some sea salt spray. Sea salt spray is one of the best curly hair products – it’s so simple to use and instantly gives your hair body and texture.

Spritz some sea salt spray onto the ends and mid-lengths of damp hair and then scrunch it, twist it, and crunch it. This helps to activate the salt spray and give your hair the right texture.  Go through your hair in sections for maximum coverage and to make sure you get every part wavy and beachy. The curlier your hair already is, the less salt spray you’ll need. Use dry shampoo on the roots for an added boost of volume.  

Headband twist

This method works with a headband, or you can even use an old t-shirt twisted into a long roller shape with the ends tied together. You can use whatever you like, as long as it’s in a halo shape that can fit around your head, and ideally made of cotton to protect your hair. What you’ll need to do with this method is to put your ‘halo’ around your head and then wrap sections of hair around it. You’ll want your hair to be dry or almost dry, but if you have a favorite curly hair product, be sure to add that before you start wrapping. You can secure your hair into place with bobby pins until all your hair is wrapped around your halo.

This method is gentle enough that you can wear it overnight and wake up to beautiful curls! Make sure to brush through your curls with your fingers to loosen them, but don’t use a hairbrush as you’ll lose the definition. Spray with hairspray to keep your curls in place all day.

Plopping

Plopping has become more popular recently thanks to TikTok, but it’s a secret that beauty experts have known about for a long time. It involves using a t-shirt, microfibre towel, or even a pillowcase as a protective bag around your curls, letting them dry and define without humidity, pressure, or friction.

Simply wash your hair as usual and then apply your best curly hair products that you would use with wet hair. Then flip your hair over and plop it into the center of the t-shirt, towel, or pillowcase. Gently wrap whatever you’re suing around your head and the nape of your neck, so your curls are protected on top of your head and leave to dry. Some people use this method for just five minutes, others say twenty minutes is the sweet spot and others prefer to use this method overnight. How long you keep your hair up will depend on your hair type and length, and you might need to experiment to find what works for you.